Paratroopers assigned to the 173rd Brigade Support Battalion, 173rd Airborne Brigade, conduct an airborne operation from a U.S. Air Force 86th Air Wing C-130 Hercules aircraft, Feb. 19, 2015, at Juliet Drop Zone in Pordenone, Italy. The 173rd Airborne Brigade is the Army contingency response force in Europe, capable of projecting ready forces anywhere in the U.S. European, Africa or Central Commands areas of responsibility within 18 hours.

Gen. John F. Campbell, commander of the U.S. forces in Afghanistan, speaks at a "Situation in Afghanistan" testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., Feb. 12, 2015.

Sgt. Maj. Daniel A. Dailey thanks his mother during the swearing-in ceremony for Dailey as the 15th sergeant major of the Army, Jan. 30, at the Pentagon. Dailey will serve as the Army chief of staff's personal adviser on matters affecting the Army's enlisted force.

Chief of Staff of the Army General Raymond T. Odierno's testimony on the impact of the Budget Control Act of 2011 and Sequestration on National Security at the Senate Armed Service Committee congressional testimony, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C., Jan. 28, 2015.

Secretary of the Army John McHugh speaks with World War II U.S. Army Veteran
Eugene Gutierrez before the Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony in honor of
the First Special Service Force at the Capitol Visitors Center, Washington,
D.C., Feb. 3, 2015.

Dragoon Troopers assigned to Nemesis Troop, 4th Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment assemble after finishing their Zone Lane training to conduct an after action review with their observer controller trainers during their unit's Situational Training Exercise at Hohenfels Training Area, located in Hohenfels, Germany, Jan. 18, 2015. The purpose of the exercise is to conduct multinational training as well as improving allied interoperability between U.S. and NATO forces.

The 3rd Aviation Regiment flight medic is lowered on a jungle penetrator from a medevac helicopter during a casualty evacuation exercise, Feb. 5, 2015, near Camp Buehring, Kuwait. Marines with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit provided security and were the simulated casualties in the exercise.

Kiowa Warriors from 2-6 Cavalry took to the sky above Oahu during a rehearsal for the units symbolic final flight in Hawaii, Jan. 15, 2015, prior to the 2-6 Cavalry color casing ceremony in preparation for the Squadron's deployment to South Korea in support of 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade.

Paratroopers from 173rd Brigade Support Battalion, 173rd Airborne Brigade, conduct an airborne operation from a U.S. Air Force 86th Air Wing C-130 Hercules aircraft at Juliet Drop Zone in Pordenone, Italy, Jan. 13, 2015. The 173rd Airborne Brigade is the Army Contingency Response Force in Europe, capable of projecting ready forces anywhere in the U.S. European, Africa or Central Command areas of responsibility within 18 hours.

Sgt. David L. Kappel, an infantry trainer assigned to A Company, 2nd Battalion, 34th Armor Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, adjusts the rifle of an Iraqi army trainee, as he instructs them on how to properly "stack" in preparation to move toward their objective, Jan. 7, at Camp Taji, Iraq. Kappel is one of over 150 "Dreadnaughts" of 2nd Battalion, 34th Armor Regiment who are advising several Iraqi army battalions, providing new recruits advanced training and assisting Iraqi cadre by teaching small unit tactics and leadership.

Spc. Morgan Austin, communications specialist with Joint Forces Command -- United Assistance, assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), holds up the U.S. flag during a promotion and re-enlistment ceremony, Jan. 1, 2015, at Barclay Training Center, Monrovia, Liberia. United Assistance is a Department of Defense operation in Liberia to provide logistics, training and engineering support to U.S. Agency for International Development-led efforts to contain the Ebola virus outbreak in western Africa.

U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Stephen Townsend, left, commander of Combined Joint Task Force 10, and Command Sgt. Maj. Ray Lewis cased their colors and ended the Regional Command East mission as the International Security Assistance Force transitioned to the Resolute Support mission during a ceremony on Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, Nov. 4, 2014.

President Barack Obama and Helen Loring Ensign, a descendant of 1st Lt. Alonzo H. Cushing, hold an encased Medal of Honor as the Secretary of the Army John McHugh, congressmen James Sensenbrenner, Jr. and Ron Kind and Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert A. McDonald, stand for photos during a ceremony at the White House in Washington, D.C., Nov. 6, 2014. Cushing was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of Gettysburg on July 3, 1863.

President Barack Obama bestows the Medal of Honor to retired Command Sgt. Maj. Bennie G. Adkins in the East Room of the White House, Sept. 15, 2014. Adkins distinguished himself during 38 hours of close-combat fighting against enemy forces on March 9 to 12, 1966. At that time, then-Sgt. 1st Class Adkins was serving as an Intelligence Sergeant with 5th Special Forces Group, 1st Special Forces at Camp "A Shau", in the Republic of Vietnam. During the 38-hour battle and 48-hours of escape and evasion, Adkins fought with mortars, machine guns, recoilless rifles, small arms, and hand grenades, killing an estimated 135 - 175 of the enemy and sustaining 18 different wounds.

U.S. Army Soldiers assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 17th Regiment, are picked up by a Black Hawk helicopter after participating in a SERE exercise during Decisive Action Rotation 14-09 at the National Training Center, Aug. 13, 2014. Decisive action rotations are reflective of the complexities of potential adversaries our nation could face and include: guerrilla, insurgent, criminal and near-peer conventional forces woven into one dynamic environment.